Nocturne Chocolate Ale is a deep, dark brown, almost black color. Pours a large, thick and creamy, coffee with cream colored head that has good retention and leaves below average lacing. The light aroma consists mostly of bitter dark chocolate and roasted malts, with a touch of milk chocolate.

Taste starts with milk chocolate, then dark chocolate and roasted malts, finishing with hearty dark bread and more bitter chocolate. Has a great roasty, dark chocolate aftertaste. Mouthfeel is average with above average carbonation, crisp finish, a bit creamy, very drinkable.

I am in the process of clearing out some of the the interminable backlog here at Chez Woody. My thanks to The Friendly Greek Bottle Shop for being an ongoing resource of singles!

I Pop!ped the cap and almost achieved an inverted pour until the head really started coming up like I was losing control. I backed off and allowed it to settle somewhat, having put half of the bottle's contents into the glass. #TheOldLady hates when i do this, characterizing it as "making a big mess", but I like the release of esters. Settling, I ended up with two fingers of dense, deep-tan/light-brown head with good retention. Color was easy on this one - Opaque/Black (SRM = 44), since there was precisely zero light penetration. It looked like a glassful of ink! Nose smelled of dark, semi-sweet chocolate. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was smoky, chocolaty, and very reminiscent of brownies. Damn, but this was good! Finish was semi-dry with the bitterness of the dark malt and the semi-sweetness that the chocolate malt imparted. I usually eschew sweet beers, but this was not sweet at all. That said, I would probably only want it as a dessert beer.

Black in color with a small light brown head. Subtle aroma of roasted malts and chocolate. The chocolate really comes through in the flavor which is very balanced. Medium-bodied and very easy to drink. Pretty smooth stuff. Recommended.